Wolfpack rally to edge Demon Deacons
By Mike Scott
Assistant Sports Editor

The Demon Deacons suffered their third straight setback Oct. 6, as they fell to the N.C. State Wolfpack 17-14 at Groves Stadium. After starting the year off 2-0 with wins against East Carolina and Appalachian State, the Deacons have now fallen in consecutive weeks to ACC opponents Maryland, Florida State and N.C. State.

For the first time since the opener at ECU, the Deacs got off to a romping good start in this game, taking the ball 80 yards for a touchdown on the first drive. The 13-play drive was highlighted by a 20-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Anthony Young to junior tight end Ray Thomas and the running of junior tailback Tarence Williams, who carried the ball seven times for 40 yards, including a touchdown on third and goal from the two-yard line. Williams finished the game with 113 yards on 25 carries.

The drive was possibly the most impressive all-around drive the Deacs have had this season, as they moved the ball methodically down the field, converting four third downs on the drive. It was especially surprising that the Deacons were able to run as well as they did against the ‘Pack defense, which features a talented set of linebackers including All-America candidate Levar Fisher.

The Deacon offense, however, did not stop there. With the score 7-3 after a N.C. State field goal, the Deacs got the ball at their own 29-yard line and proceeded to again march down the field for a touchdown. The key play of the drive came at the N.C. State 48-yard line, when the Deacs pulled a little razzle-dazzle from their playbook. Junior receiver Fabian Davis got the ball on a reverse and stepped back and launch a bomb to junior wideout Jax Landfried, completing the play for 38 yards to the State 10-yard line.

Sophomore tailback Fred Staton finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown jaunt, making the score 14-3 with 3:35 left in the first half.

Amazingly, after looking so impressive on these two drives, the Deacons would not tally another point in the game. Meanwhile, N.C. State came right back with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, scoring on a one-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds to go in the half, making the score 14-10 Deacs at the half.

“We had the opportunity (to move the ball) in the second half also, but we didn’t take care of the football as well,” Head Coach Jim Grobe. “We certainly had good field position.”

While the story of the first half was the way the Deacs moved the ball down the field, the story of the second half would be the way the Deacs moved the ball into the hands of the Wolfpack players.

On their first possession of the second half, the Deacs started at midfield after a State punt. It looked as though the Deacons might go up big, as they drove to the State 20-yard line, but Davis fumbled at the 16-yard line and the ball was picked up by the ‘Pack. State quarterback Phillip Rivers then led the Wolfpack on an 86-yard scoring drive, and, instead of taking a commanding 21-10 lead, the Deacons found themselves staring at the wrong end of a 17-14 tally.

The score was still that at the beginning of the fourth quarter when the Deacons again gained great field position, taking over at the State 43-yard line. The Deacons were again able to gain ground, and it appeared as though they might regain they lead as they took the ball to the 13-yard line. But on third and six Young was intercepted at the goal line, preserving the State three-point lead, which, after two more drives in which the Deacons were able to muster next to nothing, is where the game would end.

This was not the first time that the Deacons have been somewhat schizophrenic, looking dominant for one part of the game and docile the other part. Grobe sees this as a problem of consistency.

“We haven’t been real consistent in our output,” he said. “I think we’ve been consistently a team that plays hard and has great effort. In some cases you have to give credit to the other team, but in some cases honestly both offensively and defensively we haven’t played very well. Part of that I think is having nine, 10 kids that are sophomores and freshmen on the field at any one time.”

At the ends of seasons, sports people can often look back and pick one specific game, possibly even a specific play, that turned the season around, sending them up higher than Robert Downey Jr. or down lower than, well, Robert Downey Jr. Many experts point to last year’s Deacon basketball loss at North Carolina as this type of turning point, as the team fell from a top-five ranking into a spiral that culminated with an embarrassing loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It is beginning to look like the Deacons may have had such a game against Maryland when they fell 27-20.

At that point the Deacons were coming off two impressive victories and some fans likely had visions of bowl berths dancing through their heads. But, after failing to tie the game in their final possession against the Terps, the Deacs have fallen into a funk, running their conference record to 0-3. If they don’t get things turned around in a hurry, things could get out of control very quickly.

Grobe sees the losing streak as having a lot to do with the quality of opposition.
“I think we’ve played three pretty good football teams,” Grobe said. “Maryland is certainly one of the better teams in the country, I don’t think there’s any question Florida State is one of the better teams, and N.C. State I think is a real fine football team. So I think we’ve lost three games to three real good football teams. I think we’ve beaten a couple pretty good football teams. I think East Carolina and Appalachian were both pretty good teams. I think we’ve played five games that could’ve gone either way and we’ve lost three of them.

Fortunately, the Deacons have a serious slump-buster for their next opponent in the form of conference doormat Duke, which has seemingly gone winless since the Cleveland administration (the first Cleveland administration). The action will start at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 13 in Durham.